Richard C. Urias

It is with immense sadness that we must announce that our father, grandfather, husband, brother, uncle, and son Richard Cantarell Urias passed away on November 5, 2020. Richard was born and raised in Phoenix on June 17, 1940 by his mother Clementina C Urias and father Jose M Urias. He was one of seven children and his surviving siblings are brother Fernando, and sisters Armida and Beatrice (Lydia). He was a father of four children son Richard, and daughters Donna, Rosie, and Juanita. He is survived by his children, his wife Gregoria C Urias, and his many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Richard grew up in downtown Phoenix and attended Monroe School as a child. He had a limited formal education, only completing 8th grade before he had to start working, however, he was incredibly bright and knowledgeable. When he was younger, he enjoyed drawing, and was quite talented, with his peers always asking him to draw things for them. He also enjoyed running. Richard married his first wife Margie and started a family at a young age, having three children, Richard, Donna, and Rosie with his first wife. Later in life, he had his fourth child, Juanita, with his future wife, Gregoria. Richard married his second wife Gregoria, several years later, and they spent the majority of the last 33+ years together. Richard was a hardworking man, who always tried to put others before himself. He wasn’t into fancy gadgets or the newest electronics, instead, he focused on doing his best to ensure his family had the things they needed. He worked for the City of Phoenix for over 30 years, first in the sanitation and street department, and then as a driver for the Reserve- A-Ride company. He retired early in order to stay home and help take care of his youngest child.

Richard was pretty easy going and simple in his free time, and he usually enjoyed the time either working on his yard, on his vehicles, watching tv and listening to music. Some of his favorite shows were Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Cantiflas, The Andy Griffith Show, Johnny Carson, Sanford and Son, Barney Miller, Taxi, Threes Company, and The Twilight Zone. He also loved old black and white movies, especially horror films with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, and anything by Alfred Hitchcock. He enjoyed watching or listening to baseball and football games. He also enjoyed listening to music and some of his favorite music was from the Beatles, Perez Prado, Elvis, Santana, and Tony Bennett. He loved to eat Mexican food, especially menudo, pan dulce, albondigas, and burritos. He also loved Chinese Food, Pete’s Fish & Chips, a good burger from anywhere, and sweets and desserts. He always looked forward to going on vacation to California, because he loved the weather, got to visit his family, and also enjoyed going to Disneyland. His favorite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and The Matterhorn.

Richard was small in stature, but fierce, strong willed but kind, quiet but passionate, an introverted loving, thoughtful, helpful, generous man, forever young at heart. He was as stubborn and feisty, as he was funny and charismatic. He had the best sense of humor and was always trying to make us smile and laugh. He always had jokes or stories to tell. You could talk to him about almost anything, and he would dive into an incredible story and would paint such vivid pictures with his words. Living through the 50s, 60s, and 70s you could learn a lot about history, culture, and life just by listening to him. It was always interesting and entertaining to listen to him talk. We loved him dearly, and he will be incredibly missed.

Viewing will be on Thursday, November 19, 2020 from 1:00 -3:00 pm with Funeral Service at 3:00 pm at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E Indian School Road in Phoenix. Burial will follow at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery.